07/03/2026
What we’re reading (PT 2)…
Our summer reading recommendations continue with Dr. Karen Bourrier, a scholar of 19th-century literature and culture. Karen also teaches a popular Austen course —Jane Austen: from Book to Film—which will be offered again next year (Winter 2027). At writing, there are just 2 seats available! Karen decided to go for a Canadian connections theme with her recommendations. More from Professor Bourrier on her ‘must reads’ below:
Ann Foster. Rebel of the Regency: The Scandalous Saga of Caroline of Brunswick, Britain's Queen without a Crown (2026). I read this as a treat at the end of the semester. It was so much fun. Irreverent (Foster calls the Prince Regent by his nickname "Prinny" throughout) but completely historically accurate. And the author, who hosts the popular Ann Foster (Vulgar History podcast), wrote it totally from Saskatchewan!
Patricia Finn. The Golden Boy (2026) This was a page turner about an ex-philosphy PhD turned TV executive set in Hawaii and Kingston, Ontario. I was at Queen's the year that the backstory is set in Kingston, so I had a lot of fun remembering the city. And, Finn is a debut novelist from BC in her seventies who has made a big splash!
Julie Sedivy. Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love (2024). I'd been meaning to read this one since it came out a couple of years ago. It's a lyric memoir that pairs the trajectory of Sedivy's life with what we know about language acquisition and loss. Sedivy is a linguist who taught at Brown before moving here, to Calgary! I'll be honest, I cried when I read the part about sexism in the academy.
